GB men and women both struggle on opening day
Teams lose all their games and left with prospect of facing relegation play-offs
Great Britain’s chances of avoiding a relegation play-off in both the men’s and women’s HSBC SVNS Series took a blow on day one of the Hong Kong Sevens.
The teams lost all their games at Hong Kong Stadium yesterday, making today’s second round of group matches vital.
Hong Kong is the sixth of eight stops this season in a series that features 12 men’s and 12 women’s teams. Those that finish in the bottom four will go into a play-off with the top four from the lowertier Sevens Challenger series.
Whoever finishes in the top half of that play-off will qualify for the series next year.
Heading into Hong Kong the men were ninth in the standings on 35 points, just one behind the USA, who got their day off to a fast start with a surprise 14-10 win over Argentina.
Coming into the week after a second-placed finish in Las Vegas, Great Britain’s men were quick off the mark too against New Zealand, with Ross McCann crossing the line in the second minute, and Tom Emery adding the extras.
Unfortunately, that was as good as it got for the Brits, with the defending champions scoring twice in three second-half minutes to run out 12-7 winners.
“In a world series, everyone beats everyone,” McCann said. “The process doesn’t change for us, we’ve got more games over the weekend. We’ll try and get the win and see where we are at the end.”
Losing to the USA though probably was not part of the plan. Perry Baker’s blistering pace punished them early on, but Great Britain rallied and converted tries from Alex Davis and Harry Glover put them 14-5 up.
As with the first game they could not hold on to the lead, and the Americans ran in three unanswered tries, including one from Kevon Williams, his 100th in the sevens, to win 26-14.
“There was a lot of expectation on us going into this tournament [because of the silver medal in LA],” Glover said. “We’re training in cold conditions in the UK, which isn’t helpful, but we’ve got a chance to go again [today].”
Great Britain’s women faired little better, comfortably beaten in both games by defending champions New Zealand, who eased to a 24-5 victory, and by France who ran in six tries, including a Joanna Grisez hat-trick, in a 34-7 win.
Against the Black Ferns, GB were under pressure early on and spent much of the first half defending and absorbing tackles.
On the rare occasion they were able to progress up the field, mishandling or their opponents’ greater physicality told at the breakdown.
“That happens when you’re playing the best in the world. New Zealand’s always going to be a tough first game,” Ellie Boatman, who scored her side’s only try against France, said.
Great Britain’s women started the day in eighth place on 29 points, just one ahead of Brazil, who they play today. Brazil also lost to New Zealand and France on the opening day.